Candy Cane Lane by Scott Santoro
Pictures By: Scott Santoro
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September, 2016
Genre: Children’s Picture Book, Christmas
Pages: 32
Price: $17.99
Source: borrowed from the library
From Simon & Schuster:
A group of misfit holiday decorations come vividly to life as they try to make their way home for the holidays in this enchanting and heartwarming picture book from Scott Santoro.
The houses on Candy Cane Lane have some of the most spectacular holiday decorations around, so when a winter storm hits and damages some of the festive lawn ornaments, the residents simply can’t allow the broken figures to ruin their prized displays. Many end up in the trash, including a scuffed choirboy who is sure he’ll never have a chance to bring holiday cheer to the lane again. That is, until a little girl in the only undecorated house on the block saves him and gives him a special spot on her lawn.
But when a misunderstanding the next morning sends the choirboy off to the dump, he’ll have to team up with a plucky group of other discarded lawn ornaments to find his way back to the little girl and the one place everyone wants to be during the holiday season—home.
With classic holiday spirit and illustrations as merry and bright as any holiday display, Scott Santoro brings Candy Cane Lane to life for readers of all ages.
Review: A little girl lives in the only house on Candy Cane Lane that has no Christmas decorations. The day after a blizzard, the girl discovers a dented choirboy in the trash. She rescues him and places him on her lawn, excited to finally have a lawn decoration. However, her father mistakenly throws him out again and he is taken away by the garbage men. The choirboy finds some other discarded ornaments who band together in hopes of finding the little girl who will hopefully love them all.
This book is filled with colorful illustrations that have a retro feel. In today’s age of holiday decorations including the Star Shower, projectors, and Christmas inflatables I’m not sure how relevant this book is for children. While reading this to my eight-year-old son, he questioned what a lawn ornament was and asked if it was like the ornaments on our tree. As I mentioned, at least near us, not many people use these types of holiday decorations anymore, so he was not very familiar with them. The overall story is heartwarming as the castoffs are finally loved. However, this book didn’t appeal to my children.
Overall Rating: Optional
